Albeet steaens



A. STE'ARNSK.'v Manufacture ofv Garbnates'and Bic'arbonates. N 0.-224,24o. Patentedreb. 3, 1.880.

perspective'view of 'a block of material to be 'actionof gas.

Vthey are exposed on all sides to the action of blocks are self-sustaining, and may be handled UNITED y, STATES APATENT OFFICE.

ALBERT STEARNS, OF BROOKLYN, VNW YORK.

MANUFACTURE oF cARBoNATEs AND ICARBONATES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No.4 224,240, dated February 3, 1880. Application filed October 7, 1879.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT STEARNS, of Brooklyn, in Kings county and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in the Process of Ghargin g Substances with Gases, of'which the following is a speciiication. y Y

rIhis invention is more especially intended to be used in the manufacture of bicarbonate of soda, but may be employed for the charging` of various chemical substances with carbonio-acid or other gas.

A-.common method of charging carbonate of soda with carbonic-acid gas for its conversion into bicarbonate is to treat it in shallow trays provided with cloth bottomsfthrough which the gases may pass, and placing the said trays, after filling them, in a closed chamber, where their contents are subjected to the The object of this invention is to prepare the carbonate of soda or other substance to be treated so that when subjected to the action of the gas it is exposed on all sides, so as to permit its mass to be thoroughly penetrated there-Y by, and exposing alarge amount of surface without danger of discoloration from contact with Wood or cloth, as in methods now commonly in use, and also effecting a saving of time.

The accompanying drawing represents' al charged with gas. y

To this 4end my invention consists in first molding the substances into self-sustainin g perforated blocks, subsequently removing 'them from the molds, and then subjecting 'them to the action of gas in a closed cham ber, in which gas.V By reason of the perforations in the blocks a large extent of surface is presented for the gas to act on, and these blocks maybe very conveniently moldedby means of the apparatus forming the subject of my application for Letters Patent filed June 14, 1879. p

The carbonate of soda or other substance which it is desired to charge with gas, and which, in the case of carbonate of soda, is prepared in the form of a plastic, or approximately plastic, compound, is molded into blocks of any size and shape' desired. When dried these and moved from place to place without losing their block-like form.

In order to increase the exposed surface of the block upon which the gas may act the i each other, so that the gas may circulate all around and through them, thereby penetrating all portions of the block and charging it uniformly throughout in a very short space of time.

In'charging some substances which require a considerable time to harden or set, the substance may first beplaced in the chargingchamber in pans, and the process of charging witlrgas commenced and continued until the substance has attained a suiiicient hardness to retain its block-like or molded form; but in all cases it is intended to remove the substance from the pans as soon as it will retain its blocklike form, and the operation of charging with gas is nearly or wholly performed while the substances are in the form of blocks and exposed on all sides to the action of gas.

I am aware that artificial building-blocks, Sie., have beensubjected to the action of carbonic-acid gas in closed chambers, and such I therefore disclaim.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

An improvement in the process oi' charging chemical substances with gas, consisting in first molding said substances into self-sustaining perforated blocks, subsequently removing such blocks from the molds, and then subjecting them to the actionof gas in aclosed chamber, in which they are exposed on all sides to the action of gas, substantially as specified. p ALBERT STEARNS.

Witnesses: Y

TLIJ. KEANE, FREDK. HAYNES.

IOO 

